This is one provision in the substitute amendment to the Federal Real Property Asset Management Reform Act. The
legislation aims to speed up sales of underused or unused federal properties. The
bill passed by unanimous voice vote Wednesday during a markup
held by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the sponsor of the bill, said the method currently in
use to sell federal property does not make sense.

The proposed changes would save taxpayers $5 billion over 10 years, said committee
ranking member Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). It is reasonable to dispose of these
vacant buildings, especially when one looks at the financial cost, which equaled
about $1.6 billion in 2011, she added.

The committee passed the real property bill and six others during the markup.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the committee chairman, said it was challenging to
get enough members to show up for a vote for such non-controversial legislation.
"These measures don't attract much attention, but they do make a big difference
for the federal government and how it functions," Lieberman said.

Hatch Act updated

In approving the Hatch Act Modernization Act, the committee
pushed forward a much-needed update to the 1993 legislation dealing with the
political activities of federal employees. The main provision of the new
bill mentioned dealt with letting state and local employees who receive all of
their salary from the federal government and are under the Hatch Act run for
office.

The American Federation of Government Employees praised the passage of the bill in
a press release, citing its creation of a range of penalties for violations of the
Hatch Act. Currently, an employee found in violation is presumed to be terminated
unless unanimous decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board mitigates that
penalty.

"This legislation marks a good step in the right direction toward addressing
outdated and unclear Hatch Act provisions that have unduly restrained the
political activities of federal employees and some state and local government
workers," said Beth Moten, AFGE legislative and political director, in a press
release. "We look forward to working with lawmakers on more comprehensive
improvements to the law."

Collins said this measure was important because she did not want there to be
inequities between federal and state/local employees. She also said lawmakers
should be careful in how they modify the original Hatch Act since it is "an
important protection of the integrity of decision making."